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Friday, February 21, 2014

World’s longest free Wi-Fi zone in Patna, Bihar

If
you have an internet-enabled device and you are anywhere on the stretch from NIT-Patna
on Ashok Rajpath to Danapur,

you can now access the
internet free of cost. Once
known as a backward state, Bihar has made a strong bid for a mention on the
world’s infotech map as chief minister Nitish Kumar unveiled the 20km free
Wi-Fi zone, the longest across the globe, at a function christened e-Bihar
summit in Patna on Wednesday. Kumar also unveiled a ‘city surveillance and dial
100′ scheme under which at least 100 CCTV cameras installed in different
localities of the state capital became operational. A state data centre has
also been opened for storing of the ‘data’ collected by these cameras.

Speaking
on the occasion, CM announced an IT City would be developed on a 200-acre plot
at Rajgir. He also said the government has in principle approved an infotech
building on a plot of one lakh sq ft and another on a plot of 5 lakh sq ft in
Patna. Besides, an infotech park is coming up on the outskirts of the city.

Nitish
Kumar asked the information technology department officials to hold roadshows
in select cities across the country to spread awareness about the progress made
by Bihar in the field of information technology. “Our state should now be the
IT industry’s fave destination,” he said.

The
state’s free Wi-Fi zone is the longest in the world since China’s 3.5km zone
was treated as the longest so far. The ‘city surveillance and dial 100′
project is first of its kind in the country as it integrates the surveillance
of the city, vehicle tracking and dial 100 control centre schemes. An automated
number plate recognition system has been installed on 11 roads, which will
automatically note the registration number of the vehicles entering and exiting
the city. “It was with this surveillance system’s help that the Patna police
rescued the son of a city-based trader from Ara within 24 hours of his
kidnapping recently,” CM Kumar said.

IT
minister Shahid Ali Khan said free Wi-Fi facility would be provided at all the
tourist spots in the state. Principal secretary (IT) N K Sinha said Bihar might
be a late entrant to this sector but “we are on the cusp of IT revolution”.
Nasscom president R Chandrashekhar and Beltron MD Atul Sinha were among those
who also spoke at the e-Bihar event.